I opened my eyes in a panic. Where was I? The space around me was filled with silence and darkness, not an ounce of light reflected off a single surface. I couldn’t tell if I was just thrown into pitch blackness or if I’d somehow gone blind.

I reached my hands out in front of me carefully searching for something tangible to latch on to. There was nothing. I took slow deep breaths, trying to calm myself. If I’d learned anything from these memories, it’s that whether I’d be forcing my way in or it’d be forcing me right back out, it was going to hurt. All I needed to do was wait until it was over… I carefully shuffled along in the darkness, my footsteps a silent marker of the dream. I tried my best to focus on walking straight ahead, but not only did I feel like I was getting nowhere, I felt the memory had a certain unwillingness to start. It seemed like I had been wandering around in the dark for hours before I heard this loud clunk followed by a steady buzzing noise.

FLOW: The sound of electricity flowing from an invisible machine. I turned my head in every direction, trying to pinpoint the sound when suddenly a large spotlight appeared. I ran towards it with full force, despite its ominous whitish yellow glow, warning every fiber of my being to stay away. As soon as I crossed the threshold of illuminated light, I felt my body abruptly being engulfed in burning pain. I looked down at my exposed skin in horror as it started to sear under the heat of the light. A silent scream escaped my lips as I fell to the floor, writhing in pain. I attempted to crawl towards the edge of the like, the darkness was my only escape.  

The pain was gone in an instant and my skin was replaced with cool water. I was completely soaked. I sat up and reached for the edge of the curved stone ledge in front of me. Is this some sort of fountain? My hands froze, tightly gripping the edge of the fountain. I-I was surrounded by people, if you could call them that. Their faces were blurred, the only thing that could be seen was this hazy whitish yellow glow where their eyes should have been. I fell back into the fountain in fear, my body trembling in the shallow pool at the creatures surrounding me. I clutched my body tightly, hugging myself, as distorted laughter erupted around me. I couldn’t escape their gazes, they were everywhere. I looked up as I heard a cold laugh pierce the air.

It was Claudia! She held a silk fan in her hand that covered her face, but I knew it was her, that hair, those eyes… She snapped her fan shut to reveal a devious smile, as she slowly walked over to me. She looked down at me in disgusted amusement. I could see a pair of wet gloves hanging in her hand. That’s when I realized it, she was the one who pushed Isadora in the fountain, causing her humiliation. I could feel the rage building within me, I opened my mouth to speak but no words came. I glared at her clutching my useless throat.

“Oh my, your partner fell in the fountain, how utterly embarrassing,” She said, with a chuckle.

All at once the blurred faces slowly turned to me, their eyes going from whitish yellow to a dark blood red. I shivered, as distorted laughter erupted in the air. As their stares bore into me, I felt my skin begin to burn again. I struggled to get out of the fountain, but found myself unable to move my inflamed body.

EXPEL: Those red eyes had become a destructive force, one that aimed to tear my flesh into pieces. Silent agonizing screams begged to be heard though my mouth, as my body underwent a catastrophic deterioration. I was being burned alive, my body was slowly turning to ash where I lay. No longer able to bear the pain, I curled up into a tight ball of agony as I disappeared.

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I sat completely still in my chair under the cool shade of my pergola, unable to fucking relax. Across from me sat Claudia, back to ruin yet another afternoon for me. I still haven’t been able to completely figure out her end goal, I’ve only been able to figure out that I hate her.

“You’re here again,...” I said slowly, setting my hands on the table and interlocking my fingers.

“How could you speak to me like that!? I’m only trying to make sure you’re recovering well. There’s nothing wrong with me wanting to visit my dear sister,” Claudia said, with a sickly sweet smile that made me want to purge my lunch.

“Just like there was nothing wrong with pushing me into that fountain? I asked flatly. 

I watched as Claudia's facade slipped again. Her eyes narrowed and it seemed like the air around us grew cold. Fucking demon. She leaned forward, staring me right in the eyes. I didn’t waver. This trick didn’t scare me one bit.

“I’m here in this hellish little garden because I need my questions answered. You rude little thing. You think I want to be around someone of your upbringing?” She spat at me quietly. I blinked, hold the fuck up now. What did you just say?!

“Run that by me again, friend?” I asked, blinking in confusion. Surely she didn’t just insult Isadora’s mother in her memorial garden.

“What?” She asked, confused.

“Nevermind,” I said with a sigh, there was no point in getting into an argument with this idiot anyway. I should at least try to see who she's searching so desperately for.

“What information is it you want?” I asked. Claudia smiled, certain she was going to get what she wanted.

“Ask Mr. Abraham, if anyone will be visiting the estate within the next few days. I need exact dates and times, do you understand?” She asked.

“Yea, sure. I got you,” I said, sticking my pinky in my ear to clean it.

Claudia looked at me in disgust, before abruptly standing and turning to leave. I gave a quick finger to her retreating form, before turning my attention back to the diary I had flipped over on the table. I grabbed it with a small huff, before picking up where I left off.

Entry 1438

Sunday, Oct 8th, 418

I received a letter from Narich today with the most peculiar question. It read;

Dora,

If you could change your hair color, what might it be?

N

(9 Days Before Last Entry)

I rolled my eyes, this guy is such a god damn loser. I’m glad he hasn’t shown his face here. I aggressively flipped to the next page.

Entry 1439

Monday, Oct 9th, 418

My prayers seemed to have been heard! Narich claims he has come up with a solution to my problems and that he will reveal the plan on our next outing in exchange for a single kiss.

(8 Days Before Last Entry)

I groaned inwardly, she’s a silly hoe. Isadora was enamored with this guy that literally is doing next to nothing for her. He’s trying to leverage information that could save her life for fucking PDA. That’s fucking disgusting. Ugh, he’s so trashy. I focused my attention back to the diary and flipped to the next page. 

Entry 1440

Thursday, Oct 12th, 418

It has been 3 days.. I have not heard or seen Narich since that night. I found it quite strange that he wanted to cut my hair to keep as a token of our love, and I told him as much.

(5 Days Before Last Entry)

Umm, no girl. This guys a total freak. You should’ve gotten FAR away from him as soon as he tried to cut a lock of your hair. I slapped the book shut and tossed it on the table. Maisy can fuck off, I’m not reading anymore entries tonight. Her ass should be here soon anyway. I wonder what she does all day? More importantly, having been Isadora’s personal maid, I wonder what she knows about this Narich character? Like what exactly was he trying to do to help her? I don’t know how much information she’ll give me, she doesn’t seem to talk all that much, but I’m certainly going to try asking.

Well, this certainly didn’t go how I planned. I lay in bed on my back staring up at the canopy, exhausted from having tried and failed to ask Maisy my questions about Narich. She’s only been giving me ‘strangers-in-an-elevator-conversation’ length answers. I’m going to try one more time. I sat up looking at Maisy, in the corner of the room, reading her tiny book.

“Isadora seemed to like Narich quite a bit, huh?” I said casually. Maisy paused reading, but did not look at me. 

“Perhaps, she did,” She responded, before turning her attention back to her book.

Sighing, I slithered back beneath my blankets to sulk, I was never going to get any information from that brick wall. I rolled over with a huff and closed my eyes. As soon as May was fast asleep, Maisy stood up inhaling deeply and walking over to the bed, it was that time again.

I shook my head, trying to come to. I was on the ground, it was cold and hard. The dream around me was dark,  illuminated only by the whitish pale glow of the moon. I looked around me, I was surrounded by dense, thick strands of tall grass. I reached out and grabbed the blades between my fingers. They were coarse, wet, and almost invisible due to their deep dark greenish color that looked almost black in the night.

I started to push my way through the grass, my every step requiring more of an effort to avoid getting tangled in the mess of thin stalks.  It was a slow, exhausting process. While I focused on moving forward, I couldn’t help but feel anxiety rising in my body as the many sounds of the dream world collided in my eardrums. From the rustling whisper of the grass stalks rubbing against each other, to the blades temporarily displaced by my destructive path, springing back up into place with a swishing sound. But deeper within the grassy maze, I swear I could hear the rustling of something else, something bigger. 

FLOW:

I heard a faint snap in the distance and immediately broke out into a run. My body hyper-aware of my surroundings, misconceiving every single sound as a threat, only caused me to try to fight my way past the wall of grass faster. The lingering feeling of dread caressed my back, I was in danger!

As I ran the only thing I could hear was my heart beating loudly in my chest, every beat felt like the poor thing may burst. A nauseating feeling crept into the pit of my stomach and, I shouldn’t have, but I chanced a glance behind me. Deep in the dark void, there were a pair of bloodied red eyes, cut in the shape of primal slits, staring directly at me with unwavering focus. I felt my blood run cold as I took off, trying to put as much distance between me and whatever that was.

I ran until I was out of breath, fear and adrenaline powering my movements. Before I knew it I was ejected from the tall grass into a candle-lit dining hall. With deep ragged breaths I looked down at myself, I was being held up in someone's arms. I looked up and was overtaken by pure horror. It was Beatrice!

I forcefully pulled myself away from her falling to the floor. 

Beatrice Villani stood above me. Giving me not a look of disgust, as her daughter often did, but one of cold calculation. One that was completely unreadable. She was not as vibrantly beautiful as Claudia, even though they possessed the same qualities, that fiery copper-red hair and jade green eyes. Her appearance was one of preserved elegance, a deceptive beauty. Every single detail about her intended to convey a harmless grace, to mask her malicious intent.

She stood straight, her posture flawless. The duke to her left and Claudia to her right. In a swift gesture she leaned down, offering me her hand. The perfect image of a supportive, gentle step-mother. I stared at her outstretched hand then back up at her calculating gaze that didn’t betray her facade like Claudia’s often did. 

Her eyes were disconnected from the warm smile that graced her lips, you could feel the coldness in them, they had discarded useless emotion long ago.

With no other option I reached out and took Beatrice’s cold hand. As she guided me to my feet, and I could have sworn I saw her eyes flash a bloody red. I instantly yanked my hand back and ran behind the duke and Claudia who were already entering the dinner hall.

We sat at the table with a lavishly decorated feast speed before us. I was confused, everything here were all things I liked, so why was my stomach churning like this? I sat, looking down at the table in confusion, before it hit me. I realized, these were all foods Isadora either didn’t like or was allergic to. They cunningly forced her into a situation where she had to eat the meal before her or risk being further distanced by the duke.

I had no choice. I had to eat the food before me, I couldn’t go against the dream. I grabbed my fork and moved my hand towards the place, when suddenly the food started to move! Terrified, I swatted the plate to the floor only to watch in horror as tiny snakes slithered away in its place. I froze, eyes wide, as my blood ran cold. I slowly turned to look back at the table and was instantly bitten in the neck by the slithering snakes that had now infested the table top.

EXPEL:

I silently cried out as the small fangs pierced my skin. Stiffly falling to the floor I grabbed at my neck, gasping for air. I felt my body start to grow numb and my breathing slow. Letting my swollen arms fall to my sides, my eyes traced over to Beatrice's face, she was smiling down sweetly at me, her head tilted slightly to the side. My body started to lightly convulse as a light foamy substance dripped from my mouth. My eyes rolled into the back of my head as I felt the life leave my body.

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